Group items tagged

"Facebook's photo-sharing app Moments will not be made available in Europe due to concerns about its use of facial recognition, it has been revealed. The app, which allows users to share mobile-phone photos with friends without posting them publicly, was launched in the US this week. The Irish data regulator said that users must be given a choice about whether they want it, with an opt-in. There is currently no timetable for such a feature, said Facebook. Richard Allen, Facebook's head of policy in Europe said: "We don't have an opt-in mechanism so it is turned off until we develop one." Moments arranges the photos on someone's mobile phone into groups, based on when they were taken. The facial recognition technology can identify Facebook friends to whom users can then forward the photos. Combining data The social network is taking facial recognition very seriously and announced earlier this year that its DeepFace AI system was powerful enough to identify users with a 97.25% level of accuracy. But the social network's use of the technology has not gone down well with European and Canadian regulators. In 2010, Facebook rolled out facial recognition technology to identify people in photos but, two years later, it was forced to withdraw the technology from Europe, after Ireland's data protection commission highlighted privacy issues. At the time, the privacy commissioner of Canada said: "Of significant privacy concern is the fact that Facebook has the ability to combine facial biometric data with extensive information about users, including biographic data, location data, and associations with friends." The system, which is increasingly used by technology and other firms, is the subject of debate in the US too. Recent talks between privacy organisations and government agencies aimed at creating a code of conduct around facial recognition technology broke down after they failed to reach agreement. "At a base minimum, people should be able to walk down a publ

"A man was found cycling on the M25 in Surrey after an app on his phone sent him there by mistake, police said."

He added that he expected mobile security to improve over time but that currently, "Most mobile app developers are not taking data security seriously enough and do not perform sufficient testing in the rush to launch or update an app."

Cryptographers devote their careers to the science of securing your communications. Twenty-four-year-old Nadim Kobeissi has devoted his to the art of making that security as easy as possible. His software creations like Cryptocat and Minilock are meant to encrypt instant messages or shared files with three-letter-agency-level protection, but with user interfaces that require Lincoln-Log-level skills. Now he's pulling elements of all his dead-simple apps into what he describes as his biggest release yet, a single platform designed to encrypt everything you and any group of collaborators do on the desktop.

"Here's something for you to try. Are you one of the billion people who use Google Maps? Launch the app on your phone, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines), then tap "Your Timeline". Unless you have specifically turned off Google's access to your location data - which few of us have - you will now see a map of your exact movements, every single day, stretching back for as long as you have been walking around with your phone. You can use the calendar view to see exactly where you have been on a given day. If this horrifies you, you are not alone."

Good for paper 3?

Great app for understanding algorithmic thinking. Could be used to introduce the problems of robotics.

Sorry for the confusion. The last link I tagged required a subscription. This one is open to all.

"The Learning.com Digital Citizenship App provides middle and high school students with comprehensive instruction on online safety, ethical use of digital resources, and cyberbullying. "

A FAQ from Educase answering common questions schools might have when considering the switch to Google Apps. Also has examples of schools that have decided for and against the switch.

"A group of US senators has asked smart phone firms to cease distributing apps said to enable drivers who have been drinking to avoid police checkpoints."

"ClassDojo is used by at least one teacher in roughly one out of three schools in the United States, according to its developer. The app is among the innovations to emerge from the estimated $7.9 billion education software market aimed at students from prekindergarten through high school. Although there are similar behavior-tracking programs, they are not as popular as ClassDojo."

Looks really interesting.